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William Arthur Carr (October 24, 1909 – January 14, 1966) was an American athlete and double Olympic champion in 1932.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Called the "Arkansas flyer," Carr never lost a race during his college and Olympic career.<ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":7">Template:Cite news</ref>

Early life and educationEdit

Carr was born and raised in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> His parents were Ann Holmes and William L. Carr, a traveling salesman with the Mann-Tankersley Drug Co.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He received his elementary school education at Lakeside School in Pine Bluff.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He attended Pine Bluff High School in 1925.<ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In his freshman year, he joined the track team because he was too small for basketball or football.<ref name=":5" /> He demonstrated skill at jumping, but he broke both ankles leaping over a bar and had resign late in the season.<ref name=":7" />

Carr was recruited back to the high school track team in 1927.<ref name=":0" /> He received national attention at the spring state meet in Arkandelphia for his record–making high jump of 6.75 feet and a long jump of 21 feet 4 inches.<ref name=":0" /> In addition to winning those two events, he came in second at the 100-yard sprint and 220-yard sprint.<ref name=":0" /> In a prior track meet, he had already matched the Arkansas record in the 100-yard event.<ref name=":0" /> As a result, national sports writers were calling him the top high school track star in the United States.<ref name=":0" />

A local banker convinced Carr to enroll in the Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania for 1928 in preparation for an Ivy League college.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> There, he was coached by Jimmy Curran.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While he was at Mercersburg, they won the annual inter-scholastic track meet to become state champions.<ref name=":10">Template:Cite news</ref> Carr was the Pennsylvania champion in the 100-meter sprint, the 200-meter sprint, and the long jump, setting a state record for the latter.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":10" /> He graduated from Mercersburg in the spring of 1929.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Carr was recruited by the University of Pennsylvania and started there in 1929.<ref name=":0" /> He was on the track team and served as its co-captain.<ref name=":4" /> At Penn, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall) and a member of the Sphinx Senior Society.<ref name=":4" /> He was president of the sophomore class and received the Golden Spoon as the "most outstanding, all-around student."<ref name=":0" /> For three years, he received the Varsity Club scholarship "for scholastic excellence, character and athletic ability."<ref name=":8">Template:Cite news</ref> He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1933 with a B.S. in economics.<ref name=":4" />

Track and fieldEdit

At the University of Pennsylvania, Carr was coached by 1904 Olympian Lawson Robertson who called him "the fastest Carr in America."<ref name=":9">Template:Cite news</ref> In college, he never lost the 400-meter sprint.<ref name=":0" /> He also anchored the 1,600-meter relay team—which also never lost a competition during his college years.<ref name=":0" /> His favorite events became the long jump, the 440-meter, and the 800-meter.<ref name=":6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He was the 1931 Amateur Athletic Union Indoor national champion in the 300-yards event.<ref name=":3" /> At the 1932 Intercollegiate Championships (IC4A) championships in Berkeley California, Carr beat world-record holder Ben Eastman in the 440-yard dash, winning the IC4A 440-yard title for 1932.<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0" /> His time was 47.0 seconds; Eastman's record was 46.4 seconds.<ref name=":0" /> Carr was ranked number one in the world at the 400-meters.at the end of the 1932 season.<ref name=":3" />

Several weeks later in Palo Alto, California, Carr again outran Eastman at the 1932 USA Outdoor Championships and 1932 United States Olympic trials (track and field).<ref name=":3" /> In addition to making the United States Olympic team, Carr was also a favorite for the 400-meter gold medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.<ref name=":6" />

On August 4, 1932 in Los Angeles Olympics, Carr placed first in his semi-final 400-meter heat with a time of 47.2 seconds, breaking Eric Liddell’s world record time of 47.6 seconds from the 1924 Summer Olympics.<ref name=":0" /> However, Eastman matched Liddell’s record in his semi-final heat, setting up a final Olympic race that The New York Times called the “400-meter race of the century."<ref name=":0" /> In the final, Eastman led during most of the race, but Carr emerged victorious in the last 100-meters with a time of 46.2 seconds.<ref name=":0" /> He had not only won a gold medal, but he also had set a world record.<ref name=":0" /> A few days later, Carr won another gold medal as the anchor of America's 4 × 400-meter relay team.<ref name=":3" /> Although not scheduled to complete, he substituted for Arnold Adams who had to withdraw due to an injury.<ref name=":6" /> They set a new world record of 3:08.2.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Back at college in 1933, Carr had a "lackluster" performance in the spring season.<ref name=":0" /> On January 25, 1933, he announced that he would retire from track after the 1933 season.<ref name=":8" /> He said, "I expect to be a member of the United States track and field team that will tour Europe next summer. When the team returns, my uniform and spiked shoes will be put away for good."<ref name=":8" /> He planned on retiring so that he could focus on a new career in business.<ref name=":8" />

World RecordsEdit

Event Time Date Competition Record held through Reference
400-meter 46.20 August 5, 1932 1932 Summer Olympics 1948 (tied) <ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" />
1600-meter relay 3.08.20 August 7, 1932 1932 Summer Olympics <ref name=":3" />

HonorsEdit

  • In 2008, Carr was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.<ref name=":3" />
  • Carr was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1962.<ref name=":4" />
  • Carr was selected for the Sports IllustratedTemplate:'s All-Time Olympic Team in 1954.<ref name=":0" />
  • He was selected as the number one 400-meter runner for 1925-49 by Track & Field News' World Athletes of the Century.<ref name=":3" />
  • The Bill Carr Memorial Room at the Pine Bluff Public Library is named in his honor.<ref name=":5" />
  • A statue of Carr was installed at Franklin Field of the University of Pennsylvania.<ref name=":0" />
  • A statue was dedicated in his honor at Mercersburg Preparatory Academy.<ref name=":0" />
  • In 1932, he received a special trophy from his hometown of Pine Bluff, Arkansas.<ref name=":0" />

Later lifeEdit

On March 18, 1933, Carr was in a car accident that broke both his ankles and his right pelvis.<ref name=":7" /> At the time of the two-car accident, he was standing on the car's running board.<ref name=":7" /> He was in the hospital for four week and was not able to compete in track again.<ref name=":7" /> He had a slight limp as a result of his injuries.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1934, Carr started working for the Insurance Company of North America.<ref name=":9" /> During World War II, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving as an officer in naval intelligence the Pacific Theater.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":9" /> While there, he met his wife, Rachel Elizabeth Manasseh, in Shanghai, China.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":9" /> She was a lecturer and writer about Oriental art.<ref name=":9" /> They had one son, Alain.<ref name=":9" />

After the war, they lived in Japan where he became the Far Eastern general manager of the Insurance Company of North America.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":9" /> Next, he worked for Pan-American World Airways as the general personnel manager.<ref name=":9" /> He became the executive director of the International Center for overseas students in Midtown, New York.<ref name=":9" /> He then moved to Tokyo, Japan where he was both vice president of Prismo Safety Products, a Pennsylvania highway safety and building equipment company, and the Far East representative of the Potter Brothers, a highway building equipment dealer from New Jersey.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":4" />

In 1966, Carr died from congestive heart failure in Tokyo at the age of 56.<ref name=":0" /> He was buried in Graceland Cemetery in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.<ref name=":0" />

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

{{#invoke:Navbox|navbox}} Template:Footer Olympic Champions 4x400 m Men Template:Footer US NC 400m Men Template:USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners in men's 400 m Template:Footer USA Track & Field 1932 Summer Olympics

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